Anti-semitism

The conflict between numerous Arab nations and the nation of Israel has been much in the news. I wanted to write an article about anti-semitism, but the more I studied the issue, the more I realized that I didn’t understand it. I found that I was having more questions than answers.

I wondered about the statement of Arabic nations that they wanted to drive all Jews into the Mediterranean Sea and wipe the nation of Israel off the map. This seems to me to be a very irrational statement! What happened to cause so much hate between two groups of Heavenly Father’s children? I believe that this hate is the largest obstacle to peace in the Middle East. I went searching for answers with a great desire for understanding.

According to Wikipedia, “Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is `hatred toward Jews – individually and as a group – that can be attributed to the Jewish religion and/or ethnicity.’ …
“Antisemitism may be manifested in many ways, ranging from individual expressions of hatred and discrimination against individual Jews to organized violent attacks by mobs, or even state police, or military attacks on entire Jewish communities….
“While the term’s etymology might suggest that anti-Semitism is directed against all Semitic peoples, the term was coined in the late 19th century in Germany as a more scientific-sounding term for Judenhass (`Jew-hatred’), and that has been its normal use since then.”

Anti-semitism is not just a German problem or Middle Eastern problem or even a modern problem. Before Hitler and Nazi Germany attempted to destroy all Jews through the Holocaust, other extreme examples of anti-Semitism included the “First Crusade of 1096, the expulsion from England in 1290, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion from Spain in 1492, the expulsion from Portugal in 1497….”

Anti-semitism is increasing in the United States and across the world. Europe’s highest rates of anti-Semitic attacks since 2000 took place in Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, the Netherlands, and Sweden. According to a survey taken by the Anti-Defamation League, “14 percent of U.S. residents hold anti-Semitic views.” The survey was taken in 2005 and found that “35 percent of foreign-born Hispanics” and “36 percent of African-Americans hold strong anti-Semitic beliefs, four times more than the 9 percent for whites.”

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced on April 3, 2006, that anti-Semitic incidents on college campuses in the United States had become a “serious problem.” The Boston Review published a 2009 study stating that Jews were blamed for the 2008-2009 financial crises by almost 25 percent of non-Jewish Americans. An interesting additional fact was that more Democrats than Republicans held this view.

Rabbi Kalman Packouz [www.simpletoremember.com] stated that “Jews have experienced more than eighty expulsions from various countries in Europe” “between the years 250 CE and 1948 CE.” He claimed that historians have given six basic reasons for why people hate the Jews: 1) “Economic - `We hate Jews because they possess too much wealth and power.’” 2) “Chosen People - `We hate Jews because they arrogantly claim that they are the chosen people.’” 3) “Scapegoat - `Jews are a convenient group to single out and blame for our troubles.’” 4) “Deicide - `We hate Jews because they killed Jesus.’” 5) “Outsiders - `We hate Jews because they are different than us.’ (The dislike of the unlike.)” 6) “Racial Theory - `We hate Jews because they are an inferior race.’”

Rabbi Packouz then proceeded to explain why none of these excuses are the real reason why people hate the Jews. 1) Even though “Jews of 17th-20th century Poland and Russia” were `dirt-poor’ and `had no influence,’ they were still hated. 2) The Jews of the late 19th century in Germany tried to deny that they were “chosen” and tried to assimilate, but the holocaust started in Germany. Christians and Moslems have also claimed to be “chosen,” but they have been tolerated until recently by people who hate the Jews for the same reason. 3) To be an “effective scapegoat,” the selected “group must already be hated.” 4) Even though Romans – with Jews as accomplices – killed Jesus, there have been no anti-Roman movements. Claims that Jesus was killed by Jews came “several hundred years” after the event. Jesus said from the cross, “Father, forgive them,” and the Catholic Church “exonerated the Jews as the killers of Jesus” in 1963. Even so, none of these facts has lessened anti-Semitism. 5) When Jews try to assimilate as they did in Germany, they are hated for trying to “infect the Aryan race with your inferior genes.” 6) Jews are not a race. Members of “every race, creed, and color in the world” have become Jews “at one time or another.”

Rabbi Packouz stated, “Every other hated group is hated for a relatively defined reason. We Jews, however, are hated in paradoxes: Jews are hated for being a lazy and inferior race – but also for dominating the economy and taking over the world. We are hated for stubbornly maintaining our separateness – and, when we do assimilate – for posing a threat to racial purity through intermarriages. We are seen as pacifists and as warmongers; as capitalist exploiters and as revolutionary communists; possessed of a Chosen People mentality, as well as of an inferiority complex. It seems that we just can’t win.”

The explanations given by Rabbi Packouz made sense to me. After reading his article I could plainly see that the basis for anti-Semitism is not economics, chosenness, scapegoat, Deicide, being different, or racial.

What causes anti-Semitism to be so unique among all the hatreds in the world? Jews have been hated for thousands of years and in almost every area of the world. Antisemitism is especially strong, and yet there is very little agreement about why Jews are so hated.

Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager killed by Nazi Germany, seemed to understand the real reason why Jews are so hated. She wrote in her diary on April 11, 1944: “Who knows – it might even be our religion from which the world and all peoples learn good, and for that reason and that reason alone do we now suffer….”

When Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt and to the Promised Land, he made an important stop at Mount Sinai. There Moses received the Ten Commandments and other instructions. The Jews learned at Sinai that there is one God and that this God demands morality from all humanity.

“A great many people simply can’t cope with the burden of being good. However, when they act in ways that are bad, they can’t cope with the resultant feelings of guilt. Try as they may, they can never cut themselves loose from the standards of absolute morality dictated by the Torah. Stuck in this `catch 22’ situation, people turn with their mounting frustrations against the Jews, whom they perceive as personifying humanity’s collective conscience.
“When the Jews entered the theological arena, they showed people all the mistakes they had been making: Pagan gods are nonsense – there is only one God for all of mankind, Who is invisible, infinite and perfect. Infanticide and human sacrifice are unacceptable. Every human being is born with specific rights. No one can live as he pleases, for everyone must surrender his will to a higher Authority” (Rabbi Packouz).

As I read these comments by Rabbi Packouz, I recognized the truth in them and then extended the understanding to Christians in general and Mormons in particular. Persecutions of Christians began while Christ was still living but increased after His death. Persecutions of those who believe in the Book of Mormon began before The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was even organized and continues to this day. Many people do not consider members of the “Mormon” church to be Christians. It appears that knowing the truths of God is a reason for hate and persecution. It seems to me that people simply have a difficult time accepting that others believe differently. It makes sense to me that religion is the reason why so many people hate Jews.

My next question was, why do most Arabs have such an intense hatred for the Jews? I've come to understand that this hatred could have started in the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible tells us in Genesis that God made a covenant with Abraham to give certain blessings to Abraham and his righteous descendants. These blessings included the land of Canaan, great posterity, and the power to act in God’s name to bless all the inhabitants of the earth. We also learn from Genesis that this covenant was renewed with Abraham’s son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob - whose name was changed to Israel. The covenant continued through the twelve sons of Israel and their descendants who are known as the twelve tribes of Israel or the house of Israel. One of those twelve “tribes” was Judah or the Jews; most of the other tribes are “lost.”

I understand that Islamists believe that Ishmael was the covenant son of Abraham; therefore, they believe that the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant belong to them. When the Jews were scattered during the Diaspora, many Arabs moved into the land of Canaan and claimed the land as their own even though many Jews still lived in the area. Modern-day Palestinians believe that "their" land was stolen from them when the Jews were given their ancient homeland. Palestinians want “their” land back, and other Arab nations support this desire.

I understand that ordinary Arabs and Palestinians who know Jews personally do not hate Israeli’s, but their religious and national leaders fan the flames of hatred for Jews and the nation of Israel. These leaders gain support from the young and the unknowing.

Since I personally believe the Bible to be the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly, I believe that the descendants of Ishmael are usurpers of the Abrahamic covenant. I believe that the world will know of the true covenant people sometime in the near future.

I also believe that negative emotions such as dishonestly, envy, anger, and hate are tools used by Satan to inspire his followers to do his work of destruction. If the covenant people descended through Isaac and Jacob – and I believe that they did – it makes sense that Satan would inspire his followers to destroy God’s work by destroying His covenant people. I therefore believe that the root cause for this hatred of Jews is spiritual rather than physical and that antisemitism is being used by Satan in attempt to destroy the covenant people of God.

George Clymer

George Clymer, signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born in 1739 to a father who came from Bristol, England. George became an orphan at age seven when his father died; his mother died previous to her husband.

George was taken into the home of William Coleman, his mother's brother and a "wealthy and highly-esteemed citizen of Philadelphia." William treated George as a son in his "education, and all other things." George completed a "thorough English education" and then went to work in the "counting room" for his uncle and to prepare for "commercial life."

George didn't care too much for the mercantile business because he "deemed it a pathway beset with many snares for the feet of pure morality." He felt this way because "sudden gains and losses were apt to affect the character of the most stable." George preferred literature and science, and he spent much time thinking about those subjects.

George married a Miss. Elizabeth Meredith when he was 27 years old. He started working with his father-in-law and his brother-in-law in business known as Meredith and Sons. About this same time, William Coleman died and left the "principle part" of his large estate to George. Clymer continued to work with his father-in-law until he passed away, and then he continued with his brother-in-law until 1782.

George was an early believer in republican principles, starting some time before his marriage. When the Stamp Act was passed, George "was among the most ardent defenders of the republican cause." He was an active participant in "all the public meetings in Philadelphia." In 1774 George "accepted the command of a volunteer corps" under the direction of General Cadwallader.

Following the problems involved in the circumstances surrounding the Boston Tea Party, George was named as the head of the Committee of Vigilance in Philadelphia as well as the first Council of Safety in Philadelphia. In early 1775 Congress appointed George to be "one of the Continental treasurers."

George, along with Dr. Benjamin Rush, was appointed to be a delegate to the General Congress to replace two of the delegates from Pennsylvania who resigned from their seats in Congress after declining to sign the Declaration of Independence. Both Dr. Rush and George "joyfully" signed the document.

Clymer was part of a committee that visited the northern army at Fort Ticonderoga. At a later date, he was appointed to be on the Committee of Vigilance with Robert Morris when the British Army approached Philadelphia and forced Congress to move to Baltimore. He was again elected to Congress in 1779 and was part of a delegation sent to the Valley Forge headquarters of General Washington to investigate "alleged abuses of the commissary department."

The British did not like Clymer because he had such "patriotic zeal and unwavering attachment to the Republican cause." After the American defeat at Brandywine, the British Army marched triumphantly toward Philadelphia. George moved his family into the country for safety, but their retreat was discovered by the enemy. "British soldiers sacked the house, destroyed the furniture, and wasted every sort of property" possible. The British also considered demolishing another house in Philadelphia but reconsidered when they discovered that it belonged to one of George's relatives with the same name.

In 1778 Congress sent George to Pittsburgh on a mission to "quiet the savages" who were "committing dreadful ravages on the frontier" under the British influence. He apparently solved the problem because Congress thanked him. George was elected to Congress for a third time in late 1780 and continued as a member of that group until 1782. He joined with Robert Morris and others to establish a bank in Philadelphia and became George became one of the directors of the bank.

Apparently the Southern States were not contributing their fair quota of funds to the national treasury because Congress sent Clymer and Edward Rutledge to the South in 1782 to solve the problem.

Clymer moved his family to Princeton in order that his children could be educated there; however, he was called back to Philadelphia to serve in the Legislature where he was instrumental in setting up the state's penitentiary system.

George was a delegate to the Convention where the United States Constitution was framed and was elected to the first Congress under the new Constitution. He declined being elected a second time and was appointed by President George Washington to be the "supervisor of the revenue" for Pennsylvania. Because of the "spirit of resistance to the collection of revenue" in the land, this office required a person who had "great firmness and decision of character." In fact, it was in Pennsylvania that the "Whiskey Insurrection" took place and "threatened serious consequences to the whole framework of our government." Clymer went about his business in spite of personal danger and resigned after the rebellion settled down.

In 1796, George was appointed, along with Colonels Hawkins and Pickens, to "negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee and Creek tribes of Indians, in Georgia." They apparently settled the problem to the satisfaction of all parties.

This mission was the last public service performed by George Clymer. He was the first President of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Philadelphia and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. George died on January 24, 1813, at age 74 after a long, active, and useful life and without a "single moral stain marked its manifested purity."

Facts and quotes are from Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, pp. 114-118.

Uniformity of Taxes

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday comes from Article I.8.1: "Congress shall have power … to collect taxes … but all [taxes] must be uniform throughout the United States."

This principle was put in place to make sure that there was no discrimination in the way taxes were collected. With uniform taxation throughout the nation, everyone would be treated equally.

W. Cleon Skousen wrote, "The Supreme Court interpreted this provision to mean `geographic uniformity' rather than uniformity of assessment. The tithe (a tenth of one's `increase' is an example of uniformity of assessment because it is the same for rich and poor. However, the rich pay more because 10 percent of their wealth is much greater than 10 percent of the income of the poor.
"On the other hand, a graduated income tax violates the principle of uniformity of assessment and violates the principle of equal protection of rights. A graduated income tax makes the income of the wealthy less sacred and less protected than that of the lower income levels." (See The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution, p 392.)

Skousen clearly stated that the practice of "taxing the rich" is unconstitutional. It seems to me that in order to get back to the Constitution on the collection of taxes, we must go to a flat tax - everyone pays a certain percentage of income to run the federal government. I am quite confident that there would be more people clamoring for a smaller government if everyone had to pay their fair share to run the government!

Father's Day

Father's Day is a special day set aside to honor our fathers and to express our gratitude and appreciation for our fathers and to them. It became an official national holiday in 1972 when President Richard M. Nixon signed Father's Day into law.

Credit for the adoption of a day for fathers in the United States is given to Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. After listening to a sermon on Mother's Day in 1909, she got the idea for a day to honor her father, William Jackson Smart. Sonora's mother died in 1898, and her father raised the six children by himself. Through Sonora's efforts, Spokane celebrated the first Father's Day on June 19, 1910. Father's Day is now an official holiday celebrated on the third Sunday in June.

I am grateful for the fathers in my life: my own father, my father-in-law, my husband who is the father of our six children, and my sons and sons-in-law who are the fathers of my grandchildren. I especially love to watch my sons and sons-in-law being fathers to their children. It touches my heart in a way that nothing else does! To all of these special fathers, I say thank you and Happy Father's Day.

A father holds an important position in a family. He has the responsibility to 1) preside over his family in love and righteousness, 2) provide the necessities of life for his family, and 3) protect his family from all harmful influences.

Ephesians 6:4 reads, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Gordon B. Hinckley, a modern-day prophet, said, "The father is the provider, the defender, the counselor, the friend who will listen and give support when needed. Who better than an exemplary father to effectively teach children the value of education, the dead-end nature of street gangs, and the miracle of self-esteem that can change their lives for good?" (See Stand A Little Taller, p 169.)

Just as being a mother is more than simply giving birth, being a father is much more than simply fertilizing an egg. The most important thing that a father can do for his children is to love their mother and to insist that the children show proper respect to his wife and their mother. A recent study of the effect of marriage on poverty (1929-2008) shows that children have a much lower chance of growing up in poverty if their parents are married. The break down of the family in recent years emphasizes the important role that father fills in a family. In 1963, 93 percent of American children were born to married parents. Today the number has dropped to 59 percent. Children are fortunate if they grow up in a home that functions properly with father as the head of the family and mother as the heart. Fathers and mothers working together for the good of families are very important in establishing and maintaining a strong society.

Married fathers in the home gives stability to the entire family. Broken societies come from broken homes. Fatherless homes also are a principle reason for poverty. Fatherhood has not only "social or cultural consequences; it is a menacing national security threat. The collective social pathology of the fatherless presents a great obstacle to Liberty and the survival of our republican form of government as outlined by our Constitution.
"Father's Day should thus be a call to action. Indeed, the majority of social entropy afflicting our nation today originates in homes without fathers, which definition includes those without functioning or effective fathers." (Mark Alexander, publisher of The Patriot Post) [patriotpost.us/alexander/2011/06/16/who-needs-a-father]
I want to wish a happy Father's Day to all fathers and especially to those fathers who recognize the value of father being in the home and taking an active part in the family.

Long Term Marriages

Families are strengthened when the importance of long-term marriages is recognized and valued. Children and grandchildren can learn the value of marriage vows and covenants as they watch parents and grandparents work together to solve differences rather than running away from them. All family members need to understand that success or failure in marriage affects many people and not just the two people involved in the marriage. We all need to recognize that good and happy marriages do not just happen; all marriages need work, but some seem to need less work than most other marriages.

My husband and I will celebrate our forty-fourth wedding anniversary next week. We have endured several serious problems in those years, but we continue to learn how to "live together in love and respect."

My older sister and her husband recently celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary with their daughter, other family members, and many friends. Their celebration was much like their wedding reception many years ago and included a live band and dancing. There was a time not too many years ago when their marriage was in serious trouble and looked like it might end. They worked through their problems with counselors and Church leaders and eventually put their marriage back together. The fact that they made it together for fifty years is a real reason to celebrate!

I know many people who enjoy long-term marriages. My parents were planning their celebration of fifty years of marriage when my mother passed away five months before their golden anniversary. All twelve of their children have marriages lasting longer than thirty years with five of the older ones being married more than fifty years. Although some of my parents' grandchildren have divorced, most of the grandchildren have enduring marriages also. The example of our parents - plus the teachings about eternal marriage by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - is an important reason for these long marriages.

The recent royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William brought hope for a long-lasting marriage between them because they show obvious signs of great affection for each other. William is said to have waited long enough to make sure that Kate is the one for him. I am sure that the difficulties and divorce of his parents, Princess Diana and Prince Charles, as well as other royal marriage problems and divorces, helped to remind William that he needed to choose his wife with great care.

We often see headlines of the divorces of rich and famous people, but there are many well-known couples who have long-lasting marriages. Dolores Reade and Bob Hope were married almost sixty-nine years when he died in 2003. They married three months after "falling in love at first sight." Even though their marriage experienced rough times, it endured because they loved and respected each other as well as understood the importance of their marriage vows. There has never been even a hint of scandal about the Hope marriage.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward enjoyed another long-lasting marriage as they were together about forty-nine years at the time of his death. His marriage to Joanne was Paul's second marriage, but it obviously was satisfactory to both of them. Paul is reported to have said something like, "Why mess around with hamburger when steak is waiting at home?" Joanne is reported to have claimed that enjoying a daily laugh lasted long after looks faded and the need for sex decreased.

What is the importance of long-term marriages? The importance of having married parents in the home cannot be understated. One example is shown in the different income levels between homes with married parents and homes with single parents. According to Robert Rector at The Heritage Foundation, “Child poverty is an ongoing national concern, but few are aware that its principle cause is the absence of married fathers in the home. Marriage remains America’s strongest anti-poverty weapon, yet it continues to decline. As husbands disappear from the home, poverty and welfare dependence will increase, and children and parents will suffer as a result.”

Rector's article has charts showing the many differences made by marriage, and I highly recommend that you study the article. He wrote that America is “steadily separating into a two-caste society with marriage and education as the dividing line. In the high-income third of the population, children are raised by married parents with a college education; in the bottom-income third, children are raised by single parents with a high school degree or less.” [www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/09/marriage-america-s-greatest-weapon-against-child-poverty?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell]

There are many, many couples who are married for fifty, sixty, and even seventy years. These examples show us that marriage can be lasting if both members of the marriage will work at it. It is not easy for two people to become "as one," but it is possible. Long-term happy marriages strengthen families and show good examples to the rising generations.

Majority Rule

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is that government is required to operate according to the will of the majority of the people while at the same time protecting the rights of the minority. We would live in a truly up-side-down world if the will of the minority determined what the entire group would do. This is basically what happened in the American Colonies under the Articles of Confederation, which required unanimous approval in all its decisions. Several problems became real hardships during the Revolutionary War because a single state voted against the solution. When the Constitution was written, the Founders decided to do away with the unanimous vote for ratification and determined that only nine of the thirteen colonies needed to ratify the new Constitution.

The need to protect the rights of minorities remains. W. Cleon Skousen wrote, "… It is important for us to remember that every ethnic group in the United States was once a minority. We are literally a nation of minorities. However, it is the newcomers who feel they are not yet first-class citizens.

"It is the responsibility of the minorities themselves to learn the language, seek needed education, become self-sustaining, and make themselves recognized as a genuine asset to the community. Meanwhile, those who are already well established can help. The United States has built a reputation of being more generous and helpful to newcomers than any other nation. It is a reputation worth persevering. Once upon a time, we were all minorities."

Did you notice that Skousen thought immigrants were responsible to learn the language and become self-reliant? I personally am tired of seeing instructions in government offices, etc. in languages other than English. We are an English-speaking nation and those who want to live in our nation need to learn English and then use it. I recognize that immigrants are important to our nation, but we must insist that those who are allowed to enter America are those who will help our nation to become even greater.

Ideas and quotes for this post came from The Five Thousand Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen, p 167.

Sarah Franklin Bache

Sarah Franklin, daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read Franklin, was born in 1774, and she was "carefully educated by her father." She was apparently plain in looks but had a delightful sense of humor and wit; these qualities along with her "good nature and kindliness" made her one of the most popular women in Philadelphia.

There is little written about her childhood and youth. She was 20 years old when Benjamin was sent to England to represent the Province of Pennsylvania. Some people from Pennsylvania disagreed about Benjamin's appointment and apparently made some statements about him in Christ Church, which the Franklin family attended. Sarah "was indignant and made no attempt to hide here feelings at this `outrage against decency and the feelings of her family,' and threatened to leave the church and the congregation.

Her father was on his way to England and wrote to her from Reedy Island in November 1764: "Go constantly to the church, whoever preaches. The act of devotion in the common prayer book is your principal business there; and if properly attended to will do more toward amending the heart than sermons can do; for they were composed by men of much greater piety and wisdom than our common composers of sermons pretend to be; and therefore I prefer you would never miss the prayer days. Yet I do not mean that you should despise sermons, even of preachers you dislike, for the discourse is often much sweeter than the man, as sweet and clear waters come through very dirty earth. I am more particular on this head, as you seemed to express, a little before I left, some inclination to leave our church, which I would not have you do."

There was a "delightful yet respectful affection and intimacy" between Sarah Franklin and her father. She wrote many letters to him while he served his country in England and later in France.

Sarah - or Sally as she referred to herself - married Richard Bache, a merchant in Philadelphia, in October 1767. Bache moved from Yorkshire, England, to the Colony several years before the wedding. Sarah and Richard lived with her mother until Mrs. Franklin's death. Sarah and Richard were parents of eight children, one of which died in childhood.

When Benjamin Franklin was appointed as Minister to France in October 1775, he took his eldest grandson, Temple Bache, to France with him to begin his education. Sarah wrote to her father on February 23, 1777, "We have been impatiently waiting to hear of your arrival for some time. It was seventeen weeks yesterday since you left us - a day I shall never forget. How happy we shall all be to hear you are all safe arrived and well…."

Soon after Benjamin and Temple left Philadelphia, the Bache family had to leave town because the British army had marched through New Jersey and was approaching Philadelphia. The family were able to move back home a short time after she wrote to her father but had to leave town again later. She wrote to her father on July 14, 1778, "Once more I have the happiness of addressing you from this dearly loved city, after having been kept out of it more than nine months. … I found your house and furniture in much better order than I had reason to expect from such a rapacious crew…." Major Andre' was quartered in Franklin's home during the British occupation of the city and apparently took a number of items when he left.

Depreciation in Continental currency was prevalent. Sarah wrote to her father in a "spirit of amused levity" that "she has to send her servant to market `with two baskets, one to hold her purchases and the other to carry the money with which to pay for them.'"

Sarah belong to a "movement of the patriotic ladies of Philadelphia in 1780" who furnished "food and clothing for destitute soldiers." They would collect contributions and then distribute the funds. They considered the idea of giving each soldier "a hard dollar," but General George Washington suggested that the men needed clothing, particularly shirts, more than money. The women used the money to buy fabric from which they made 2200 shirts. The shirts were cut out at Sarah's home.

A M. de Marbois wrote to Dr. Franklin the next year to share his feelings about Sarah: "If there are in Europe any women who need a model of attachment to domestic duties and love for their country, Mrs. Bache may be pointed out to them as such. She passed a part of last year in exertions to rouse the zeal of the Pennsylvania ladies, and she made on the occasion such a happy use of the eloquence which, you know, she possesses, that a large part of the American army was provided with shirts bought with their money or made by their hands. In her application for this purpose, she showed the most indefatigable zeal, the most unwearied perseverance, and a courage in asking, which surpassed even the obstinate reluctance of the Quakers in refusing."

After an absence of seven years, Benjamin returned from the Court of France in September 1785. He spent his remaining years with Sarah and her family. Sarah and her husband traveled to England in 1792 for about a year. Two years later, Richard retired from his business and bought a farm located on the Delaware River about 16 miles from Philadelphia. They lived on their farm for about 13 years before moving back to Philadelphia to obtain better medical care for Sarah. She was diagnosed as having cancer, and she passed away in October 1808 at age 64.

Facts and quotes are from Wives of the Signers: The women behind the Declaration of Independence, pp.179-192.